Pieces of a Photographer

New Blog Home

2009-02-01T22:22:00.001-05:00

I know...I've been having a blog identity crisis. But it's over...really. So please, if you want to follow my blog, check me out at my new home: www.theslightlyirregular.com Thanks friends.

In case you were wondering...

2009-01-26T09:44:00.002-05:00

In case you were wondering, I do intend to update this beast. Life got busy again. And yes, I do consider that a valid excuse. I have work, moving into a new house, a wife, and now grad school to balance, while trying to keep up some sort of social life. You understand...and I thank you for your patience.

If you need something to do to occupy your time while you're waiting for the "great unveiling" of my updated site, I would suggest watching "Wristcutters: A Love Story." Slightly inappropriate, but a good way to pass the time.

New Design

2009-01-04T10:25:00.002-05:00

I'm trying out this new design, and I think I like it. Right now it's under some construction, so please be patient with it. I think it will suit my needs quite well, but I'm anxious for some feedback. Feel free to contribute.

Disaster Ahead

2008-12-13T08:16:00.002-05:00

For all two of you who stop by regularly, I'm sorry to say that I will once again be changing the layout of my site. I think its justified this time. As you might have guessed, the last design overhaul was an attempt to create some continuity between the design of my photo website (www.leonewmanphotography.com), and my blog. The trouble here is that light words on a dark background give you that "ghosting" effect. You know, when you look at the words for a while, then look away but you can still see the words for a second or two. Pictures don't do this as badly, plus I change them up more often. So, you can see why this must be done, right? I'm working on just the right scheme, but suggestions are welcome. Any designers out there?

Introspection

2008-11-24T07:29:00.003-05:00

I think I've discovered what made me (at least to my way of seeing it) write better blog posts in China: not having to be daily beaten down by the responsibilities of a life with ownership of things, and separation from those things which I now own and of which I am feeling the weight (except people...I'm not into organized slavery, per se, wink.) And while missing people and having feelings of longing for them and other creature comforts may have made me more introspective, I can say that in some ways, actually gaining those things I longed for has not improved me in any dramatic way (with the major exception of my wife, who I longed for deeply, and who has truly made me a better man.) So then, which is more unhealthy? My attachment to the things I couldn't have, or my attachment to the things I now have? I'm leaning toward the first of these two options. My eyes have always been bigger than my stomach. And when I take the time to realize the burden of ownership (and to be fair, I'm not taking the blessings into consideration at the moment), I realize the purpose to some degree, in a much more selfish and less spiritual way, of Jesus words when he reminded His disciples to carry only the clothes they wore. Yes, and Jesus Himself was a man of ultimate freedom, going one step further. Not only did He not pursue ownership of earthly possessions, He gave them away. The owner of the cattle on a thousand hills even gave His life away. And now, in His same generous and loving manner He still gives to us abundantly from His "pasture," ensuring that not only do we have what is necessary for survival, but also what might make us glad.

Houses and Hypnotics

2008-11-21T21:35:00.001-05:00

What's new with the Newmans? As the title suggests, houses and hypnotics. We're closing on our house, Lord willing, December 17. And, I've got a new batch of Ambien to craze up my nights. Man I love that stuff. There's nothing like hallucinations that drift off into coma-like sleep.

Home Buying Part 2

2008-11-16T22:44:00.001-05:00

So, we put in an offer on a house tonight! Unexpected...somewhat. At least this soon. But we think we're really going to love it. Who knew houses were so expensive. Hopefully, if our offer is accepted, pictures will follow.

Home Buying

2008-11-12T09:52:00.003-05:00

Erynn and I just started the process of buying our first home, meaning that we had a consultation with a Realtor. So far its been awesome, but I'm already nervous and a little scared of the whole process. This is normal, right? Please feel free to donate advice or cash...we could use both! *wink* sort of.

Advice Wanted

2008-11-10T11:31:00.003-05:00

I'm in the market for some good Christian websites. I'm particularly interested in sites with some meat, so I'm probably not too interested in fluffy devotional type sites. But I DO want some hard hitting devotional sites. So far the site that best fits this description is desiringgod.org, which is John Piper's site, and http://www.cbmw.org/, which is the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood site, but it pertains mostly to gender issues as they relate to the Bible and culture. I'm looking for something a little more general. Any ideas out there?

Evidence of Blessing

2008-11-09T08:29:00.002-05:00

There's no doubt about it...I'm a blessed man. I can see that everywhere around me if I'm paying attention, which I so often am not. Usually this is obvious. The second I start to focus on me, or I start to complain, or allow myself to settle into an unhappy mood, I can guarantee that I've stopped considering my blessings. So now that I'm thinking on this, I'm responsible to act on it. My goal: turn my self focus into meaningful moments of thankful prayer and fruitful ministry toward others.

A Simple Gesture

2008-11-08T21:02:00.002-05:00

Hello. My name is Xiao Qiu, but my friends call me Jacob. Can you pray for my family and me today? Xie xie.

A Cat's Heart

2008-11-03T21:40:00.005-05:00

I love our cats. I like the way they get happy, purr, and make bread. I like their inquisitive nature, and I like their love for simple toys. If you don't have a cat...you're missing out.

In other news, I've been re-reading some of my blog posts from when I was living in China, and I gotta say that I was much more interesting to read then. So, in effort to bring back something worth reading, here's a sample of something old, but good.

Living in China is like:
1. Living on the other side of the world ( and it literally is.)
2. Being "white man" to the indians in the New World discovery of America.
3. Being famous with no benefits.
4. Going back in time.
5. Living in a land already ravaged by Sally Stuthers.
6. Finding a gem buried in a dirty pile of concrete blocks.
7. Being a single strand of tobacco in a lit cigarrette.
8. Having tons of money that everyone but you knows you have.
9. Finding incredible strength in the 11th hour.
10. Being poured out water, sometimes on dry ground, other times on fertile soil.
11. Seeing miracles daily, even ones that you don't recognize except in hindsight.
12. Being an infant learning speech and motor skills.
13. Being the frog in a massive game of Frogger®.
14. Being in a movie that you wish your friends could see.
15. Having your heart ripped into pieces and put back together over and over again, but in a good way that makes you grow.
16. Crying tears for someone who will never know you cried, or even why.
17. Living without borders.
18. Smelling things with your whole body.
19. Asking for flowers but learning to be content with the grass in which they grew.
20. Finding God in more than the Bible...sometimes in crippled hands, sometimes in a child's dirty face, or sometimes in a bowl of noodles...you never know.
21. Trying to catch your breath in a whirl wind.

For those of you who really want to, or can, please feel free to add your thoughts to the list. Its really kind of therapeutic and fun. I suspect that not many of you will, though...I'm just doing the numbers...

Goodbye to a Friend

2008-10-20T22:03:00.005-04:00

Remember that person you shared your childhood years with? That friend who you told people was actually your brother, even though you and everyone you told knew you were lying? That person was Jason for me during some of the most important years of my life. It seemed every weekend that I was at his house before we got our driver's licenses. We rode our bikes everywhere, to every fishing hole, to every dark patch of woods where we could play with fire and smoke cigarettes. We experimented with old fireworks, trying desperately to out do one another in building a better bomb. Then came freedom: the driver's license. The world opened for us. Soon we were scheming on how to sneak out to see this girl or that girl. We were trying to see how fast we get the Camaro to go, or how loud we could make the speakers bump. We just enjoyed being teenagers. Then something changed...I had an encounter with the Living God that changed me forever. My heart, my mind, my whole life changed. Jason was happy for me...but it was my experience, not his. And finally, there was something that we didn't share. And it was the most important thing we could have ever shared. I spent years sharing and hoping that somehow he'd just get a taste of what I'd tasted. But I still to this day don't know how much of it he understood. Time passes...it always will. I moved away to college, and on weekends we were still the same old friends. Then came graduation...and I left the country for a while. We weren't so close anymore. But when I came back, there was still so much of that friendship there, and it took few words to know it. That's the short version of my friendship with a great guy. A great person. Someone that I loved. Last week I was looking through my contacts trying to update some information and thought, "I really ought to call Jason. I wonder how he's doing." I didn't. And yesterday dad called. "Just thought you should hear it from us...Jason passed away." There were some details, but they didn't matter. My friend was gone. Gone without goodbyes to anyone. And now, all I have are memories, and the sadness of losing someone who shared a history that no one else could ever know the way that he did. I lost my friend. So, I guess this is really about me saying goodbye. It's hard to say goodbye to a friend like that.

In Loving Memory

Becoming a Minimalist

2008-09-17T13:00:00.004-04:00

I got the idea in my head that being a minimalist would be a fun and better way to go. The trouble was, I didn’t know much about being a minimalist, so I set out to get more knowledge. Books equal knowledge, right, so of course I went to the store to get a book. Several actually. When I got home with my new purchases, I discovered that I didn’t have room for all the new books, so I decided that I definitely needed a new bookshelf. Back to the store I went. In the end I chose a nice mahogany bookcase, but on the way to the check out counter it struck me that I needed to get the feng shui just right. So, I made a pit stop in the house plant section. After browsing for a bit, I chose a healthy looking Fichus and completed my purchase. Happy to have everything home so I could get to work on being a minimalist, I picked up one of my new books, but soon discovered that the lighting in that section of my house was horrible for reading. The lamp shop was just a short distance from the house, and in the end, I think I found exactly what I needed for good reading.

I hooked up my lamps and went back to reading only find that my chair was terribly uncomfortable. Getting a new chair was such an easy fix, but something that really needed to be done sooner than later, so I called in to work the next day to allow myself some extra time at the furniture store. I found the perfect reading chair, but it was part of a set, so naturally I had to get the matching sofa. I was sure that my purchases would look great at home, and they were certainly going to make my reading easier, but when the inexpensive delivery service arrived, my purchases wouldn’t quite fit through the door…some renovations were definitely in order. I immediately headed for the phone book. I have an appointment next week to have the work done on the house. Then I think it’s safe to say that I will be well on my way to being a minimalist.

Watching the Skies

2008-09-14T07:54:00.002-04:00

I've been watching the skies. I guess they're something of a reminder that I exist in time, and I'm moving forward. Sometimes when I look up I see the traces of the best days of my life. Other times the skies remind me that the best days are yet to come. Mostly I'm praying that no matter what I'm feeling when I look up, I'll remember the One who knit the heavens together...the One who sits beyond the skies. I'm thankful for the sufficiency that He is, and for the bounty that flows from His outstretched hand. My present and my future are perfectly secure, and my past matters only in the ways it points to His greatness. I can forsake all else for the surpassing greatness of knowing Him.

"Lord, give me only what will honor You and keep my heart bound to you in inextricable longing and fulfillment."

Updates

2008-09-10T21:36:00.004-04:00

If you're going to have a blog, you should put something on it, right? So here's something. Sacrifice is a discipline. Sacrifice requires strengths in other disciplines. But, should the way be opened to leave and go into my plans, I think staying in the Refiner's fire is best. So, here I'll remain.

Q & A Time with the Readers:

According to your understanding, what purpose does the Refiner's fire serve in our lives?

Finally Here

2008-09-07T15:20:00.001-04:00

After many promises of a new blog format, here it is. I want your opinion. Give it.

Still On The Horizon

2008-08-07T08:03:00.003-04:00

I know I said a newly designed blog was coming...and it really it. But, bear with me for a bit longer until I can get my main page a little better designed. I hope it will be worth it.

Changes

2008-06-13T16:48:00.003-04:00

We've had a few changes around the house lately. Erynn has taken a new job, we got a baby cat, and I bought a scooter. So. I think the blog needs a change too. On the horizon for the next month are a few exciting changes...at least for me. I'm hoping to launch a new website, complete with a reformatted blog and photo galleries. If you have any input on this, I'd love to hear it. I'm open to design ideas, general comments, well-wishes, and maybe even a few curses...so long as you feel good about making Jesus cry.

Terms

2008-05-30T09:28:00.003-04:00

You know how you know certain things are true, and you tell other people about it all the time, but you're not even aware that you stink at applying it to your own life? Yeah, you do. Me too. So I'm working through that...particularly this issue of wishing things were different. See, I tend to be a "half-empty" kind of guy, who puts a cynical spin on most things. If only I can get through ______, then things will go so much more smoothly. If I didn't have ________to do, I could ______. I wish ________. I mean, looking at life like this is making me tired. There comes a time when you just have to build a bridge, and get over it. It is what it is...and it isn't bad. You've got to come to terms with the fact that your life doesn't begin when you reach some unknown point in the future...your life is what you're doing right now. And if you can't like that, then do something useful, but sometimes what you've got is what you've got. That's a good thing. Shall I accept only the good from God, and not the bad? As if I deserve anything good on my own account. This is the essence of self assuming the throne and glory that only God deserves. And the reality is that I died to self, and must continue to choose that path everyday. So what are the terms?

I am human.
I am sick...unto death. I will eventually die.
I have Crohn's disease. I hate it.
I have Ankylosing Spondylitis. It hates me.
I'm a husband...and learning how to do that takes time and grace.
I'm a minister...in human flesh. I mess up.
I'm tired.
I live in a small town, but have big dreams. Yet, I have little direction.
Sometimes I hate being in school. That perspective is my fault.
I am often the cause of my own unhappiness.
Others will sin against me. What counts is how I choose to love in spite of this.
I do not always like the way things are or how they are done. I still have to do them.
Even still....
I am a redeemed child of the King.
My soul is eternally healed...and my destiny is sealed by the blood of Christ.
Christ is my strength when I am weak. Disease is not my master, He is. He is my sufficiency.
My wife is loving and full of grace and patience...and we can grow together.
The Holy Spirit is the power behind my ministry and my witness. I am a steward, but He supplies the power.
Even when I am tired, there is strength enough to praise the Lord.
This world is not my home.
I have been blessed with access to God's Word that others may never have.
My happiness is pointless if I rejoice in anything but Christ.
The love of Christ compels me to love those who sin against me.
God's ways are not man's ways...I have but one Master. His holy Word is the standard.

Today is going to be a good day because God is on His throne and I am under the watch care of the only One who is good. These are the terms of the life I live.

2008-05-03T08:09:00.000-04:00

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

1 John 3:16-24 (ESV)

Just So You Know

2008-04-28T07:43:00.001-04:00

I don't care for politics much. I also don't care for Hillary or Obama.

New Post Time: The Adventures of LJo

2008-04-13T22:13:00.008-04:00

Here are some photos from my last adventure. Keep in mind that if you're one of those few who check for updates regularly, you can subscribe via the subscription option to the right of the page. So, enjoy.

Below are a few photos that prove that I could have died this day. Along with the beautiful birds, there were two snakes out playing as well. They had it out for me. **Edit** I was told after the fact that at least the first snake was just a Black Racer; not poisonous, but exceedingly scary nonetheless. I believe the second snake to be the same type. Both lacked the usually characteristic triangular head of poisonous snakes, and I wasn't thinking clearly enough to notice the shape of the eyes. But, both were likely not nearly as interested in me as I was of them.

Cat

2008-04-04T15:46:00.005-04:00

I know these are probably proof that we love this cat too much. I don't care. We like him.

Continuing Through Genesis

2008-03-24T07:13:00.002-04:00

14 So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.

Gen 21:14 (ESV)

As I'm reading through these passages this morning, I'm struck by two main thoughts. The first concerns Ishmael and his mother. These two had the odds stacked against them from the beginning. I mean, Hagar was simply a servant in Abraham's household. Her life was one of servitude. Then comes her mistress complaining that she can't have children, so she tells this poor girl that her husband is going to take her to bed and make a baby for her. So, she's forced to have another woman's baby. Now, I'm no expert on women, especially the heart of a mother, but I'm pretty sure that most women I know would have serious issues with this. This woman, who doesn't even have the promise of God to soothe her heart (yet), is being forced to make life changing decisions, and for very little reward herself. Now, there is a lot of cultural things that have to be considered in this as well, but my point is obvious without going into great detail. This woman, and eventually her baby, are players in a game they never chose to be a part of, simply because Abraham and Sarah had serious faith issues. They are the result of man trying to do things his way. And if we continue reading, God reveals to Abraham and Sarah that Ishmael is indeed NOT the promised heir, and eventually Isaac is born. Now, you'd think that these two had dealt with God enough up this point to stop making selfish decisions. But NO. We read that Abraham, once again at the urging of Sarah, sends Ishmael and Hagar away. He gave them bread and water, and said, "I hope you make it." That's essentially what it boils down to. We read that these two are wandering around in the wilderness, until this desperate mother, out of provisions, leaves her son under a bush to die. It was a moment of utter hopelessness, again, seemingly as a result of another's decisions, and actions which she could not have chosen. (I say seemingly because, interestingly, God tells Abraham to send them away. God knew that He was about to reveal Himself in a powerful way.)
Which brings me to my second thought. Where was God? He was sovereignly overseeing the lives of these important players in his Great Redemption Story. Not only does He fulfill His promise to Abraham in the birth of Isaac, He cleans up the mess that Abraham made, and restores hope to Hagar. The Lord provided water, and made a home for them, and the boy grew under God's promise to Hagar to make him a great nation (he was still an offspring from Abraham.) There are so many thoughts to be fleshed out in this narrative. I think I'm most struck by the faithfulness of our covenant keeping God, who loves and works in the lives of his people. And even though our good is not all together the goal, the part that we have in God's overall plan is for our good, and it's in knowing God through these times that we find ourselves saying with the Psalmist, "You are good, and what you do is good."

Merry Easter

2008-03-23T05:24:00.002-04:00

Happy Resurrection Day!!!!!
Fu Huo Jie Kuai Le!!!!!

Continual Praises

2008-03-20T09:18:00.003-04:00

For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.

Psalm 117:2 (ESV)

Sometimes the love of God becomes so tangible that it overwhelms. I can't express how faithful He has been...how good; my words simply aren't sufficient. We've been so incredibly blessed, and lately we've seen God move through our prayers in some incredible ways. But, let me not praise Him and say that He is faithful because I can see it, and because our blessings have made my heart happy. Rather, let me remember that He is worthy simply because He IS. Before I ever breathed a breath, He stretched the cosmos over creation, and He was Sovereignly receiving glory from that and every created thing before me, down to the caterpillars and wheat fields. God is good, and has always been. My existence is a proof of that, but not what makes it so. So, I'm humbly praising Him today for being the God of the great and small, for being everything all at once, and for His intimate love and the ways He shows it.

Just in case some of you were wondering what's going on lately, my previous blogs tell a little about that. But in these recent months, God has provided a new job, and though the income is not what it was, we've been trusting God to provide...and He has in so many ways. We've been blessed by the income and the environment of my new job, by the generosity of a friend who has anonymously loved us with some financial gifts, and then yesterday we found a paycheck from over a year ago that was never cashed. It was actually the last check I received before I got married, and since I was still living off a loan I got when I came back to the States, I guess I never knew it wasn't in the bank. Who could have imagined that these were ways that we would have what we needed, but God works wondrously, I think to remind us sometimes that He is a wondrous God. And, today I found out that the lead singer of one of my favorite bands, which is no longer together, is recording again. I found some of his music, and it's awesome. The blessings keep coming!

God's Provision

2008-03-11T06:25:00.002-04:00

Testimony time (again). I'd like to bear you my testimony, I know this is the true church, and that Joseph Smith was a true prophet. I'm thankful for my family, my friends, my new teddy bear, and candy. Ok...perhaps this is mean. That's what a testimony might sound like if I were still a Mormon. BUT I'M NOT! I want to share about how much God loves my wife and me, and how He chooses to show us that in ways that we can't explain.
Let me start by just giving a little insight into how my mind was working yesterday. I got up, and took a shower. Usually, this is a good time for me to pray, center myself in Him, and do a heart check. I've been reading about Abraham's relationship with God a lot recently, and I've been pretty struck by how often Abraham responded in worship. Even more amazing is that when we read that Abraham worshiped, there are almost never walls around him, there are no pews, no hymnals, and rarely even an altar. Yet, he worships. And so, I was thinking, "When was the last time that I really worshiped? I hope it wasn't just last Sunday." So I stood there in the shower, worshiping. I just stood still before the Lord. You might be surprised at how much you can hear when you sit in silence before the Lord. And that was all. Nothing too profound in that. I went on about my morning, which included scraping the ice from my truck before heading off to school. As I scraped my windshield, the thought struck me that I still needed to get my brakes fixed, that we owe the IRS some money, that we have bills to pay, and I would really love to just get them paid and be debt free. And for a second I was tempted to feel overwhelmed, so I just prayed, "Lord, your resources are infinite. I am yours, and you care for your own. My needs are not bigger than You, and I can trust You. Not in my time, but Yours. Help me to wait on You as You reveal how You will yet again provide." Then I went to school, then to work. As I walked in the door, someone caught me and said that they had something for me. He handed me an envelope, and I briefly saw there it contained some money. I just stood there looking at him, not sure what to do. He said that someone, who wanted to remain anonymous, wanted to bless Erynn and me with this gift. I nearly lost my legs. I wasn't sure what to do. Part of me wanted to jump, part wanted to cry, and part of me wanted to get away immediately and worship on my face. I was just amazed that God had done this wonderful thing. I can't even imagine who might know we really needed this gift, but someone loved us and was truly a blessing. Whoever was a friend to us in this way, we are thankful, and so grateful that you were an instrument of the Lord, not only to help us with our financial need, but also to help grow our prayer, intimacy, and worship with the Lord.

Time Away

2008-02-20T08:03:00.002-05:00

I've been away from my regular activities recently, which actually means more that I haven't been reading your blogs lately than it means that I've not been updating mine. That sentence was confusing, I think. Anyway, the point is, I've been busy with some unusual things. Most of my attention has gone to paper writing and web site launching for our Sunday School class. Maybe I'll link up to it some day so you can see what's going on, and what I was doing with my time. Later days.

Thanks For The Prayer

2008-02-09T21:32:00.001-05:00

It seems that my colon just hates me. We've suspected that my meds might be working less than they should, and as always, these invasive inspections could reveal a need to cut out a part of intestines. But, it turns out that I won't be requiring that just yet. But for real, I'm gonna need the colon to settle down.

Update

2008-01-31T10:05:00.000-05:00

I guess I can't rightly tell Ghetto Staci to update again if I don't attempt an update myself. Actually, some good things have been happening lately. Some of you know that I have been on the hunt for a new job. So, with that reminder in place, let me put this thought on hold for a second to describe what this new job means to me with a different story.
The college years of my life were some of the best a man can ask for. I built relationships that I still cherish today. I learned so much about life, myself, others, and most importantly, God. I never knew that a person could know God like I learned to know Him in college. I never knew other people who experienced that love in a similar way. Those were some of the most intimate times of worship, corporately and privately, that I've ever known. Those years of fruit and growth carried me through the hardships of the missionary life in Asia, and the memory of being on my face before a holy God fueled my sharing, my relationships, and my worship there.
Then I came home. And I began to realize how true it can be that this world is not our home. The following months were spent trying desperately to find a place and a way to have the impact and sense of purpose that I felt in college and in Asia. Though I loved my church, and the part I had in its ministries, the thing that weighed me down day after day was my job. After months and months, what I tried to see as God's provisions (and I believe it was) became a black cloud over my head, always there, always casting a shadow over what could have been good. And what developed, largely due to my own inability to overcome my own selfishness, was about a year of near fruitless, passionless worship. I have only myself to blame. I hated my job, saw no other way, and let that shape my ministry, my marriage, and my relationship with God. I don't mean that these areas completely suffered. It's just that in comparison to what I knew in college, what I settled into was so less satisfying.
So, after much prayer, and some other external factors pressing in, Erynn and I decided to take a step of faith that would force us to trust God to care for us like we've never had to. I quit my job, and had no real hope of getting another. But God...in His faithfulness, opened a door and provided a job at our church, which leads me back to the earlier point of what this job means to me.
I just do custodial work at the church. But in these recent days, His faithfulness in everything has revived me. These common tasks at the church have become a ministry for me, and the change in my heart has been so longed for. Don't misunderstand me to say that the job is the source of these things. My relationship with God has been awakened in areas where I allowed the negativity of my old job to lull it to sleep. This job has not caused any change in me...God has. Meditating on His Word, singing to His Name, remembering the power of the cross...this is the difference. It took a step of faith for me to remember who God is, and who He has promised to be. I see with a renewed vision. God has awoken my sleeping heart. I'm so thankful. God be praised.

A Little Prayer

2008-01-12T11:15:00.000-05:00

Some of you know that my job is my least favorite part of life. In fact, I hate it. Constant abuse can really wear a person down. So, after months and months of this, Erynn and I decided to take a step of faith, and I gave my notice. So, after January 24, I will no longer have my current job. My prayer that the Lord will provide something else, and that's what I'm asking you all to pray about. I really miss full time ministry work, but perhaps the Lord has something else for me right now. Either way, I'm already much happier knowing that I'll soon never have to go back to that place. Thanks for your prayers, friends.

Graffiti...mostly victimless

2008-01-03T06:27:00.000-05:00

Though I'm not a supporter of destroying public property, or anything that belongs to someone else, for that matter, I found this page really entertaining. It's just some simple graffiti.

**Edit**

It just occurred to me that the above link may contain objectionable material IF YOU NAVIGATE AWAY from the above page. Since I found this on Firefox's StumbleUpon feature, my content filter only covers the exact page I'm viewing. So, the link is OK...I can't vouch for the rest of the website. Just wanted to make sure no one was caught off guard.

Stupid Scam

2007-11-29T07:17:00.000-05:00

I guess I just seem that gullible. I get email scams, like everyone else, all the time. What intrigues me from time to time is the way these scammers gather their info for their target. Most of these email scams are very poorly written, full of absurdities, and make little sense. This one, however, seemed to come from someone who put a little more than the average amount of time into it. And seeing as how it comes from an Asian name, and has strange little idiosyncrasies that are common to Asians who use English as a second language, I wonder...Do these people get paid for such junk? If so, I might need to look into some kind of career change. I'm sure I could put some mess like this together.

Utmost Response Needed.
Mr.Patrick Chan.
Good Day,

Though I have not considered this medium to be the best manner to have approached you on this issue being that the Internet has been greatly abused over the recent years and is very unsecured for information of vital importance. I have decided to take the chance seeing that no other means could have been faster and more efficient than the E-mail.

I am Mr. Patrick Chan, Executive Director and C.F.O of the Hang Seng Bank Ltd. I have a concealed business suggestion for you. Gen.Samir Abi Rahman who was with the Iraqi forces and also businessman made a fixed deposit for 18 calendar months, with a value of USD$24.5 Million only in my branch. Several maturities notices was sent to him, before the war which began in 2003. also after the war another notification was sent and no response came from him. We later found out that the General along with his wife and only daughter had been killed during the war in a bomb blast that hit their home.

After more inquiry it was also discovered that this General did not declare any next of kin in his official papers.And he also confided in me the last time he was at my office that no one except me knew of his deposit in my bank. What bothers me most is that according to the laws of my country at the expiration of 5years the funds will revert to the ownership of the Hong Kong Government if nobody applies to claim the funds.

I want you to know that I have had everything planned out so that we shall come out successful. There is no risk involved at all in this matter, as we are going to adopt a legalized method and the attorney will prepare all the necessary documents. We shall then share in the ratio of 60% for me 40% for you.

Should you be interested send me the following; Full names, private phone number, current residential address and I prefer you reach me on my private email address below after which I shall provide you with more details on this operation.

Your earliest response to this letter will be appreciated.

Kind Regards,
Mr.Patrick Chan.

Well, praise the Lord! These benefactors are so kind. What a wonderful turn of fortune to be considered for such a gift.

2007-11-24T19:30:00.000-05:00

I have a new link up on the top of my page. It's on the tab entitled "Wack Plates." Keep your eyes open for new posts. I have a couple up now. Basically, Erynn and I have been having so much fun with these plates that I've decided to post some for your viewing pleasure. Please feel free to contribute your own, or leave a comment. Thanks and happy viewing.

The Cat Baby

2007-11-03T10:40:00.000-04:00

It has been suggested to me that perhaps we love our cat too much. Whatever the case, you can't deny that he's pretty lovable.

2007-10-30T08:44:00.001-04:00

I'm finding God today in the midst of the papers and folders and phone calls, and maybe even the curses flying across the room...or at least I'm trying.

God Bless America

2007-10-18T08:07:00.000-04:00

Some food for thought....

Yesterday as I was driving to work, I saw what must have been a patriot. The back of this particular vehicle was covered in magnetic ribbons declaring various praises of our great country. And suddenly I was shocked by my own reaction...I was frustrated. But why? Do I not love our country? You bet I do. After having lived in a communist country for two years, where I feared every knock on the door, every phone call, every stare, I love and appreciate our country now more than ever. It's truly a blessing that I don't have to keep an emergency escape bag by the door here. I think what bothered me most about it was that it seems representative of what a lot of "Christian Americans" believe. There's little hesitation to call on the Lord for blessing and help. But what are we asking Him to bless? Endless and repeated instances of willful rebellion? Murder? Slander? Lies? My point isn't that we're such a wicked people (though we are, me included), but that perhaps our first prayer should be asking not for blessing, but brokenness. Perhaps a prayer asking for broken hearts and a heartfelt desire to repent would do more for our nation than a prayer asking for blessing. But let's take it one step further. What if we did pray this way and God granted our request? What if America's people truly became widespread broken and repentant? Would the church know what to do? Would she know how to minister? The point is, do we have enough faith to follow through and be obedient ourselves if God grants that for which we pray? I hope we do. I hope I will grow in this. I pray that I will learn, and teach my children, and lead my family to expect great things, attempt great things, and pray to a Great God.

Isaiah 30: 1-14

30:1 “Ah, stubborn children,” declares the Lord,
“who carry out a plan, but not mine,
and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit,
that they may add sin to sin;
2 who set out to go down to Egypt,
without asking for my direction,
to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh
and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!
3 Therefore shall the protection of Pharaoh turn to your shame,
and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt to your humiliation.
4 For though his officials are at Zoan
and his envoys reach Hanes,
5 everyone comes to shame
through a people that cannot profit them,
that brings neither help nor profit,
but shame and disgrace.”

6 An oracle on the beasts of the Negeb.

Through a land of trouble and anguish,
from where come the lioness and the lion,
the adder and the flying fiery serpent,
they carry their riches on the backs of donkeys,
and their treasures on the humps of camels,
to a people that cannot profit them.
7 Egypt's help is worthless and empty;
therefore I have called her
“Rahab who sits still.”

A Rebellious People

8 And now, go, write it before them on a tablet
and inscribe it in a book,
that it may be for the time to come
as a witness forever.
9 For they are a rebellious people,
lying children,
children unwilling to hear
the instruction of the Lord;
10 who say to the seers, “Do not see,”
and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us what is right;
speak to us smooth things,
prophesy illusions,
11 leave the way, turn aside from the path,
let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”
12 Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel,
“Because you despise this word
and trust in oppression and perverseness
and rely on them,
13 therefore this iniquity shall be to you
like a breach in a high wall, bulging out, and about to collapse,
whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant;
14 and its breaking is like that of a potter's vessel
that is smashed so ruthlessly
that among its fragments not a shard is found
with which to take fire from the hearth,
or to dip up water out of the cistern.”

2007-10-12T08:24:00.001-04:00

I am so Emo.

Which is Scarier

2007-10-08T13:52:00.000-04:00

Since the "scary" holiday is approaching, I have a fun question for consideration.

Which is scarier?

or

Our cat, De Tigre

2007-10-07T16:13:00.001-04:00

Actually, his name is Misiu (Meeshoo, which is Polish for bear cub.)

Mornings At Our House

2007-10-03T07:54:00.001-04:00

This morning the wife and I were talking before I left for work and the conversation, as usual, centered around something non-nonsensical. My wife has a great love for the funny cat photos, such as can be found here. Anyway, we recently got a cat...he's pretty great, especially considering the fact that I don't like cats much. So, as I passed by the bathroom door where she was curling her hair, we had a little conversation something like this:

Me: "Hey."

Her: "Hey."

Me: "Um, ceiling cat is watching you."

Her: "I don't care if ceiling cat is watching me."

Me: "Floor cat is watching you, too."

Her: "I hate that floor cat."

Me: "Hey, you're going to hurt his feelings...he's right there."

Her: "I don't care, I hate floor cat."

Me: (to the cat) "It's ok...momma's a bad lady and she doesn't mean it."

(to her) "Hey, let me tell you about what the insurance lady said yesterday."

Her: "OK"

Me: "I liked her...she's really DTE.

Her: "What's DTE?"

Me: "Uh, down-to-earth, duh!"

Her: "Whatever."

Me: "OMG, what's wrong with you."

(killer look)

Me: "WTD" (what-the-devil)

Her: (some threat)

Me: "Ok, gotta get to work...love you."

Her: "Love you too!"

(kiss and depart)

Today, I Feel...

2007-09-28T13:38:00.001-04:00

Today, I feel like the cat.

Conscruction

2007-09-27T13:29:00.000-04:00

Please be patient with me as my blog undergoes some con-scruc-tion. Things will be settled soon.

Later Days.

My Thoughts Exactly

2007-09-24T12:33:00.001-04:00

Blog Crisis

2007-09-18T07:36:00.000-04:00

I'm not at wordpress any longer. It's too frustrating to try to manage a blog with restricted features, and I sure don't want to pay, so I'm staying here. Thanks.

What's In a Name?

2007-09-17T10:18:00.001-04:00

If you've never tried "Google-ing" your name, you should give it a try. My old name, or slave name, if you will, returned some pretty uninteresting results. Basically, Google says the name belongs to a rather old African-American man. My new name however, is a little more interesting. The Google search for Leo Newman explains that my name belongs to the major character of a novel entitled "The Gospel of Judas." The following is a synopsis of the book:

A Roman Catholic priest experiences a crisis of faith—at the same time
that he finds himself attracted to a married woman. A scroll is discovered near Jerusalem that, if authentic, could open Christianity to a complete reinterpretation. A dangerous passion ignites and secretly smolders in Fascist-dominated Rome during World War II. These and other brilliant threads are woven into a magnificent literary entertainment—a novel that resonates with tales of love and betrayal as it deals profoundly with questions of faith, identity, individual responsibility, and what it means to believe.

So, I guess the moral of the story is research your intended name before you make it final. Not that I would have chosen a different name because of this, but I thought this was more than a little ironic.

Later Days

Feminist Garbage

2007-09-09T21:31:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I thought I knew what Feminism was. I thought it was relatively harmless. I was VERY wrong. I think most people are equally ignorant (I don't mean that in an offensive way). So, below are some of the actual comments made by modern feminists. You can judge for yourself how destructive this movement really is.

Ideological Feminism: What is it really all about?

“No woman should be authorized to stay at home and raise her children. Society should be totally different. Women should not have that choice, precisely because if there is such a choice, too many women will make that one.”

- Simone de Beauvoir, “Sex, Society, and the Female Dilemma” Saturday Review (June 14, 1975), 18.

“The most merciful thing that the large family does to one of its infant members is to kill it.”

- Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood, Women and the New Race (New York: Trust Publishing, 1920), 67.

“The care of children . . . is infinitely better left to the best trained practitioners of both sexes who have chosen it as a vocation . . . . [This] would further undermine family structure while contributing to the freedom of women.”

- Kate Millet, Sexual Politics (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1970), 178–79 .

“The institution of sexual intercourse is anti-feminist.”

- Ti-Grace Atkinson, Amazon Odyssey (New York: Links Books), 86.

“In a patriarchal society all heterosexual intercourse is rape because women, as a group, are not strong enough to give meaningful consent.”

- Catherine MacKinnon in Professing Feminism: Cautionary Tales from the Strange World of Women's Studies (New York: BasicBooks, 1994), 129.

“Our culture, including all that we are taught in schools and universities, is so infused with patriarchal thinking that it must be torn up root and branch if genuine change is to occur. Everything must go—even the allegedly universal disciplines of logic, mathematics, and science, and the intellectual values of objectivity, clarity, and precision on which the former depend.”

- Daphne Patai and Noretta Koertge, Professing Feminism: Cautionary Tales from the Strange World of Women's Studies (New York: Basic Books, 1994), 116.

“Heterosexuality is a die-hard custom through which male-supremacist institutions insure their own perpetuity and control over us. Women are kept, maintained and contained through terror [and] violence . . . . [Lesbianism is] an ideological, political and philosophical means of liberation of all women from heterosexual tyranny”

- Cheryl Clarke, “Lesbianism, An Act of Resistance,” in This Bridge Called Me Back: Writing by Radical Women of Color, ed. Cherrie Moraga (New York: Kitchen Table–Women of Color Press, 1983), 128-37.

“The opposite of heterosexual desire is the eroticising of sameness, a sameness of power, equality and mutuality. It is homosexual desire.”

- Sheila Jeffreys, Anticlimax: A Feminist Perspective on the Sexual Revolution (London: Women's Press, 1990), 300.

“Marriage has existed for the benefit of men; and has been a legally sanctioned method of control over women. . . . We must work to destroy it. The end of the institution of marriage is a necessary condition for the liberation of women. Therefore it is important for us to encourage women to leave their husbands and not to live individually with men. . . . All of history must be rewritten in terms of oppression of women. We must go back to ancient female religions like witchcraft.”

- The Declaration of Feminism, quoted in Women’s Counseling Service, The Document: A Declaration of Feminism (Minneapolis: Minnesota Historical Society, 1971), 14, 15, 22.

So, decide for yourselves. And by the way, if you agree with these statements, vote for Hillary. You'll contribute to one of the greatest evils of this age.